Get ready for the “Las Vegas Raiders.” NFL approves move out of Oakland

It’s a day that, honestly, a lot of us never thought we would ever see, given the NFL’s long-standing animosity towards gambling. But it’s happening, though not for another season or two as they await construction of a new publicly-funded, and tourist-funded, $1.9 billion stadium in Vegas.

If you want to know why this move is happening, it is because Las Vegas clearly wanted the NFL more than Oakland did, and made Mark Davis an offer so good that even the league recognized they couldn’t say no to it.

Vegas wanted the NFL no matter what, and now they’ve got it. I have to admit, I am happy for my “winter home” Vegas today.

As for Oakland, it’s a sad day for Raiders Nation again, just as it was the first time this team moved back in 1982 to Los Angeles. But the team has no choice but to leave Oakland again, because their stadium is a dump. Still, it is a real loss. I heard a lot of chatter on the Bay Area radio stations today about what the NFL will lose when the Raiders move, in terms of the unique fan experience associated with Raiders football in Oakland.

It is also another blow to sports in Oakland, because the Golden State Warriors had announced plans a while ago to desert their longtime home in Oakland to go back across the bay, to San Francisco. Anyhow, I hope fans in Oakland enjoy A’s baseball, because that’s all they’ve got now.